Bottom's Up
by Fortun3Cookie
Summary: Time can tell you a lot about a person. For instance: the seemingly fearless girl is afraid of… thunderstorms. And the haughty Wolf Bat leader may be growing a touch forgetful. Put them in a locked room together, and, well… You had to have been there. -Written for Evenly Matched's Coldest of Nights exchange-


_21:30_

He had purchased the eyeliner because it had been advertised as 100% smudge-proof.

It was a claim that Tahno had found to be _entirely _untrue as he leaned over the cool, ceramic countertop, carefully eyeing the black lines that smeared, if only in the slightest, and if only in the sight of his trained eye.

He gave a heavy sigh as he stood straight once more, having done all he could do to attempt fixing the smeared eyeliner, chiding himself with a quiet click of the tongue for switching from a brand that he had come to trust, to a new brand that he had just heard of the other day.

"_If ain't broke, don't fix it." _ The old adage ran through his mind, one his mother frequently quoted, one he fervently hated.

His hand ghosted over the brass doorknob, and he was _almost_ out, when...

_She _happened.

It's the only way to describe it, really.

One moment he was on his way to freedom - sweet, _sweet _freedom - and the next moment, the door opened on him, the frame hitting him square in the forehead and pushing him back, while a mess of sniffles and tears hurrying in, slamming the door behind her.

By itself, it wouldn't have really been a problem. He had never seen _her_ cry, and didn't particularly care to, and was planning to quietly slip out of the bathroom and back into the crowd upstairs. However, when he heard the door click, and though he didn't try to open it, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that - given his luck - he might be stuck with the mess of sniffles and tears for a while.

And _that_ was a problem.

He had come to socialize (if only briefly), to get drunk (well, not _drunk _drunk. He never really did like the taste of alcohol, per se, but it _was_ a 21st birthday party - and not just any 21st birthday party, but Miss Asami _Sato's_ 21st birthday party - so what else was to be expected? … Not to mention that just a sip more of the wine he had previously been nursing on would have substantially improved his current mood, and to have a _good night _in general. It had been so long since he had actually been out and about and _enjoyed_ himself. He had quite been looking forward to this night.)

He had certainly _not_ come to be trapped in a bathroom with her. Not under normal circumstances, and certainly not when she was upset.

Tahno was, by no means, a big believer in Fate.

He did, however, think that someone, somewhere had a twisted sense of humor.

It's the only way to explain how it came that he was staring down at the distraught girl who only grew more confused at the fact of another person would be in the same room.

Hurriedly, she wiped away her away her tears with the back of her hand, crossing her arms defensively, looking up at him with the most annoyed look on her face.

"What are _you_ doing in here?" And though she wanted her question to come out with a bite, her voice still wavered.

Tahno's eyebrow quirked as he leaned against the cool counter once more, supporting his weight with one hand, ignoring the stinging sensation that came from the door imprint on his forehead.

(And he hoped that she hadn't seen the tears that had welled in his own eyes upon the contact, and the way he hissed - and, well, he _may_ have cursed, but that's not the point because it didn't hurt _that _much.)

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted. His voice was smooth, a practiced tone, despite himself being mildly bewildered. "Don't you know what a _closed_ door means?"

Her lower lip jutted out in a pout as she moved just a step closer to him, as if challenging him. "I know what it means," she huffed, "But it wasn't locked."

"It _was_ locked." His lips curled into a frown, his own arms crossing over one another. "_Before_ you knocked it in."

Because, really, that was the only plausible explanation. Tahno getting older, though… certainly he wasn't becoming so scatter-minded so soon.

He huffed at the thought (though perhaps she thought he was huffing at her, because her mood only darkened to the point where Tahno could actually _feel _it.)

(And it felt mildly frightening.)

"Is there something you needed?" He asked, dry humor edging into his voice. "Or did you just come here to bother me?"

"I _didn't_ come down here for you." Her eyes narrowed - he had never seen her in such a foul mood before - giving him one last look before turning on her heel for the door. "As much as I _know_ that hurts your feelings." With the off-handed comment, she twisted at the handle and -

_Ah_.

Just as he had thought, it didn't budge.

"Oh, for fuck's sake."

In spite of himself, Tahno chuckled. The exasperation in her voice, mixed with her vocalization of his exact thoughts, was oddly funny.

"_You_ broke it."

"No, I didn't."

"You came in like a rhinopotamus. You broke it."

"If it had been _locked_, I wouldn't have come in."

She had turned now, looking at him, her hands balled in tight fists at her sides. He still hadn't moved from his spot against the counter.

(And, the pain in his head had gone down quite a bit, _thank you very much._)

"It _was _lo-" He stopped himself mid-sentence. Again, he huffed, the sharp exhale blowing at the strands of fringe that had rested against his forehead. "It doesn't matter." Though the tenseness in his voice made her think that it did indeed matter, and it gave her some small pleasure to know that it seemed to irk him. "What matters is if you can _un_break it."

"I already tried, Pretty Boy." Her hands unballed - _thank you _- and rested on her hips instead. "Unless _you'd_ like to try."

"I'll leave the brute force to you." His lips pursed, briefly. "I didn't come to throw myself against the door. But, I suppose I also didn't come to spend my night with you." A smirk tugged at the corner at his lips, not entirely from good humor. "Tonight's full of surprises, isn't it, Uhvatar?"

If her mood had lightened any, it was gone as soon as he finished his sentence.

"Apparently." She shifted, turning towards the door as if, by sheer willpower, it would open.

_22:15_

"No one's coming."

"Shut up."

She had taken up a perch on top of the counter, watching as he paced, worrying tracks into the plush carpet.

"They would have come a long time ago."

"I said, _shut up._"

Though he was a bit hurt that Ming and Shaozu hadn't come after him.

"Whatever, Mr. Grumpy Hair."

(He found that he liked it much better when she had taken a vow of silence against him.)

_22:30_

"You're going to burn Asami's rug."

He looked at her - _still_ on the counter - and frowned. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Not yet."

_22:35_

"Have you tried yelling?"

He groaned. Loudly.

_22:37_

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"... Are you kidding?"

"Yes."

_22:40_

He had given up pacing for sitting, the tips of his toes touching the bottom drawers of the cabinet.

"This is ridiculous."

"I agree."

"This is your fault."

Korra scrunched her nose - again, _ridiculous_ - and he second guessed his position on the floor when she had to look down at him. "So call your fan club to bail you out."

_22:45_

"How much longer do you think the party will last?"

"You don't know much about parties, do you?"

"No."

"A couple more hours. At least."

She sighed, sliding off of the counter and onto the floor, pulling her knees to her chest - and how she did it with the dress she had on, he wasn't quite sure.

Of all the pranks that life had played on him in his twenty-three years of living, this one, by far, took the cake.

Had he known that, when the Sato princess invited him and the Wolfbats to her birthday party, he would be where he was right now, well…

He might have rethought his RSVP.

They had been in the small bathroom (that seemed to be getting smaller) for at least an hour now. Maybe two.

(….Had it been three?)

(Surely not.)

Tahno tried to think of the longest he had ever spent with her, and his mind could only recall the brief moments in the locker rooms before a Pro Bending match.

(Because _somehow_ the Fire Ferrets were _still _a team.)

(And, though he would never admit it, she was an enjoyable opponent, and seemed to be the one person he had found in his career that could evenly matched against him.)

_23:00_

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

_23:15_

Despite the thickness of the walls, the rain fell heavily enough for them to hear, and lightning hit hard enough for them to feel the vibration of the thunder. The flickering of the lights gave him enough of an excuse to pretend he didn't notice the momentary look of fear in her eyes.

(Not that he had been looking at her eyes.)

"I didn't know it was suppose to rain."

"So it seems."

"... Do you think the lights will go out?"

"I'm not an electrician, Korra."

"Oh."

"Are you scared?"

"No!"

He laughed a laugh that made him throw his head back. "I can't believe it -"

"Shut up."

"- Our Avatar, afraid of a _thunder storm._"

She turned her head, unwilling to meet his gaze. "I'm not afraid."

He hummed, the reverberation getting lost in his throat. "If you say so."

And that was that.

_23:20_

"Hey. When you came in here, you were crying. Why?" He hadn't really meant for the words to come out. It wasn't that he _really_ cared. Girls cried all the time.

(But it was something different when Korra cried.)

And besides, it was _boring_ to sit in silence.

(And she had seem really upset.)

"I wasn't."

A quirk of his eyebrow challenged her words.

"Mako broke up with me." Her voice made her seem smaller than she already was with her knees pressed tightly against her chest.

"Again?"

"Yeah."

"Hm."

"Surprises, right?" She looked over to him, a crooked grin on her face. (Though it wasn't one he knew her to wear.)

"Yeah."

"Mako's surprised to see Asami in that gown - " And it _was _a nice gown, Tahno mused. It fit in all the right places and - "And my surprise when he tells me it's over. Just like that." She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

_23:22_

"Don't worry about him."

_23:30_

"I'm hungry."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have broken the lock."

"I said I was sorry."

23:40

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"What were _you_ doing in here?"

Tahno frowned - he _really_ needed to stop doing that - as he thought of the hateful, overpriced, falsely advertised, _pencil stick_ that brought him here.

(But it hadn't turned out _all_ bad.)

"What do _you_ think, Uh-vatar?"

"... I feel like it has something to do with the stuff you put on your eyes."

23:32

"I could always burn the door down."

"_No._"

"But -"

"No."

"I thought you wanted out."

"I do," Tahno's voice was curt - he hadn't moved from his position on the floor and was starting to feel a tad stiff - and he eyed her warily, as if the very moment he took his eyes off of her, she would ignite the room in flames. "However, I would like to leave _without _this house burning down."

"Suit yourself." And she only sounded mildly offended when she shrugged her shoulders. "Priss."

23:35

"It's still raining."

"Yes."

"...It never rains in the Southern Water Tribe." She stretched her legs out so that they were parallel to his, her hands resting on her thighs.

"I hear it's a desert."

"So I'm not use to it."

"Are you admitting to being scared?" The lack of taunting in his voice surprised her.

"No," She replied evenly, drawing out the syllable, her arms coming up and over her head, awkwardly stretching before her hands settled back in her lap. "I'm just… not use to it."

"Okay."

As if on cue, the roll of thunder - that had quieted down- rumbled, loudly, making her at-ease posture fade quickly as she jumped. Her eyes widened, if only for a moment, frantically scanning the room before locking on his form.

(_Honestly_?)

"I thought you said -"

"I'm _not_ afraid." Though the whine in her voice suggested otherwise to him.

He laughed, nudging the tip of his boot against her leg.

"Okay."

(He couldn't _wait_ to tell Ming and Shaozu about this.)

(Then again…)

(They didn't need to know, did they?)


End file.
